Report

IBO Reporter: Spot51

|Today’s Ref is Yorkshireman Tom Nield who has been doing EFL games since 2017. This is the first match I’ve watched on Sky+, and I am pleasantly surprised. It is a huge upgrade on last season’s “red button” nonsense. We got multiple cameras, replays and both a commentator AND a pundit. Tonight, this is Lee Hendrie, whose Villa connections make him a huge fan of Cameron Archer, who leads the line.

With no Cap’n Jack to accommodate, Saints could play a 4-3-3 in front of Lumley. The back four were Bree, Wood, Edwards and tonight’s captain, Taylor. We then had Dibling, Les, and Fernandes in midfield, and Amo Ameyaw, Archer, and Edozie were up top. Dibling looked comfortable carrying the ball, and he got the first, albeit tame, shot away, giving Alnwick a simple save.

Dibling continued to run with the ball. He earned a free kick when Colwill brought him down, but on 10m, his run from the right saw him find Fernandes on the edge of the box. The Portuguese took one touch before driving the ball, right-footed, into the button corner, 0-1.

This was not all one way by any means. Cardiff were always looking to break forward, and Reindorf and Conte relished taking on our defenders. When Our Les stopped Ashworth in his tracks on their left, he seemed shocked to be penalised. Colwill took the free kick, but instead of swinging in a cross, he drove it hard and low at goal. Lumley had time to drop on it at the foot of the post.

Both sides won and wasted corners before Edozie cut in, but his shot was blocked. Then, on 21m, Cardiff attacked down their left. The ball reached Reindorf, who tried to drive into our box but was turned back by the sheer weight of numbers. Instead, he rolled the ball back to Colwill, who took a touch to his right before unleashing a rocket from 25 yards that crashed in off the crossbar. Lumley never saw it. It’s all square now at 1-1.

Our next effort came from Les, but his speculative effort flew high over the bar. Both sides were playing well, and defenders at both ends had coped till the half-hour arrived. A beautiful, slick passing move down our left then undid Cardiff. It was instigated by Taylor, who brought the ball forward. First-time passes in the box saw Fernandes and Archer return the ball to Taylor, who squared it to young Sam Amo Amayew, who curled a lovely shot inside the keeper’s right post. Saints back in front at 1-2.

Soon after, Edozie won a corner on the left. Fernandes was on corner duty from this flank, and he picked out the run of Archer, who got a neat flick that needed saving at the front stick. Les was looking strong in front of our defence and broke up most efforts to get by him. Colwill then got the first card of the evening by fouling Sam during a period of niggly fouls by both sides.

Cardiff had more success down the wings but first Taylor then Wood were able to win balls into our box, There were +2m at the end of the half but nothing of note happened. The sides went down the tunnel with the Pinks still ahead.

Cardiff replaced Gradehan with first-teamer Alex Taylor after the break, and he brought more authority to their midfield. Within 3 minutes, Cardiff were level with a goal that demonstrates why Saints are desperate to sign a decent keeper before the window closes.

Reindorf sent Conte scuttling down the right, from where he drove in a waist-high cross. Lumley made no attempt to catch it and opted to punch instead, smacking bang into the danger area FFS. Before any Cardiff player could react, it bounced off the unfortunate Edwards and went in. Shocking defending at any level, and we were 2-2.

Both sides then tried to edge ahead with Saints, the first to try. Fernandes played the ball to Edozie, who cut back onto his right but blazed his effort wide off the far post. Conte collected a pass from Taylor up the other end but blazed his shot both high and wide. Dibling became the second player booked for a foul on Taylor before the next goal arrived.

Sam set it up, driving in from the left. He picked out Fernandes on the edge of the box, who again moved the ball slightly before hitting it. Instead of shooting, this time, he slid a peach of a pass to Archer. The forward had his marker close behind but span and shot across Alnwick into the far corner. How nice to have a striker playing between the sticks for a change. Saints back in front.

Before the cheers of the travelling Scummers had died down, Cardiff were level. This was another beautifully made goal. Colwill sent a diagonal ball towards Conte, who’d come into the box near Lumley’s left-hand post. Instead of going for goal, he cushioned a header into the path of Taylor, whose volley flew past our keeper. No stopping that one either. 57m gone, and it was 3-3.

Cardiff began to look more likely to score next and forced us to defend more than before. When Edwards conceded a corner, Reindorf got up well to meet Ashford’s cross but sent his header over the bar. Shortly after the hour, both coaches made changes: Twose replacing Colwill for them and a surprise recall for ABK replacing Fernandes and Lallana for Les. ABK went straight into the back line, and Ronnie Edwards stepped into midfield.

ABK’s first challenge saw him outmuscle an opponent and carry the ball out. He looked as though he’d never been away. Lallana, too, was impressive. He did the simple things well and always seemed unrushed by all the activity around him. I had wondered why he had been brought back, yet the calm he exuded seemed to rub off on our younger players as Saints began to retake control of the game.

On 67m, Tyler went on another run before playing in Archer, whose shot was blocked. Bree collected a card for a foul on Conte, but the next goalmouth action saw Lallana take a pot from distance, drawing a routine save from the keeper.

Up the other end, Reindorf found Ashford, but his shot was right at Lumley. Reindorf stepped past Edwards in their next attack, who dragged him back by his shorts. With Cardiff in possession, the game carried on, and Lumley conceded a corner. The ref then went back to book Ronnie. Robertson’s corner was met by Goutas, who also sent his header too high. We were not winning many of these crosses…

Cardiff were enjoying another good spell, but when Conte worked an opportunity, it was well blocked by ABK. On 78m, Jefferies replaced Kpakio at right-back before Reindorf worked another chance for Twose. He caught it well, but it just missed the keeper’s right post. Whether he’d have got to it or not is unknown.

With no extra time these days, the commentators began speculating about penalty shootouts just as Saints stepped it up for a final push. When Robertson fouled SAA, Dibling swung the free kick into their box. Edwards met it, but his header bounced off a defender and was put out for a corner, which came to nought.

Russ then sent on Irish youth international Romeo Akachukwu for Edwards, and he was soon fouled by Fagan Walcott, who was booked. Saints maintained possession and, with time almost up, Dibling won another corner off Bagan.

The 4th Official showed +5m as SAA and Dibling worked the ball to Bree just outside their box. He crossed the ball, but a Cardiff head sent it back towards him. Bree stepped past his marker to get to the dropping ball first, hitting a beautiful arcing volley over the crowded area and beyond Alnwick’s despairing dive. His first goal for Saints, and he was off to celebrate in front of the travelling Scummers. 3-4 in added time.

Cardiff went after a 4th equaliser with gusto, which left enormous spaces for us to exploit. In the penultimate minute, Dibling again carried the ball upfield and played a delicious pass down the right-hand side of Archer. The striker performed a mirror-image version of his first goal, turning and firing across Alnwick for our fifth. 3-5 - that’s Entertainment!

Russ did that annoying thing of making final-minute substitutes, neither of whom got a touch. For the record, Larios and O’Brien-Whitmarsh replaced Dibling and Sam Amo Amayew. I don’t think the ref added any more time, for it was all over, and our Ressies had beaten theirs and taken us into the third round.

By sheer chance, later that evening, I caught the draw where the big clubs are kept apart to ensure they all progress to the latter stages. Saints, on the other hand, get a shitty away tie at Goodison before the demolition men arrive. Big fecking deal!

Man of the Match

|There were some impressive performances from our debutants and youngsters. However, the guy who was key to that victory and never stopped looking for the ball and moving it forward was TYLER DIBLING. He is still an unpolished gem and not ready to play every game this season. Make no mistake though, he has an important role to play as we move forward from our awkward start to this season.